Introduction

The ColorEdge CG277 is EIZO's flagship monitor targeted at professionals in digital photography, prepress, video editing and post production. The 27-inch wide CG277 monitor features a sensor that is housed inside the monitor and swings up onto the screen for self-calibration. Alternatively, the CG277 also has an internal correction sensor that maintains the calibration results after the monitor has been calibrated with an external sensor. It's equipped with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, a wide-gamut IPS panel that reproduces 99% of the Adobe RGB colour space, an LED backlight, a 10-bit display with 16-bit look-up table, DisplayPort, HDMI, and DVI-D input terminals, stable brightness chromaticity and tone characteristics within seven minutes after power on, monitor hood that works in both landscape and portrait mode, and an ergonomic stand. In the USA, the EIZO ColorEdge CG277 monitor costs $2499.99, and in the UK it retails for £1608.00 inc VAT.

Ease of Use

In terms of its looks, the EIZO ColorEdge CG277 definitely falls into the practical rather than stylish camp, with a bulky and heavy design that places the emphasis firmly on getting the job done. Usefully it already comes pre-assembled in the box, unlike most monitors that you have to put together, only requiring you to fit the supplied monitor hood. The stand is height adjustable and it can be placed in either a landscape or portrait orientation.

The CG277 is supplied with an AC power cord, signal cables (DVI-D - DVI-D [dual link supported], Mini DisplayPort - DisplayPort), USB cable, setup guide, EIZO LCD Utility Disk (ColorNavigator software, PDF user's manual), adjustment certificate, ScreenCleaner, monitor hood, quick reference, and warranty card (5 years).

Front of the EIZO ColorEdge CG277

The CG277's 27-inch display boasts a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, making it very well suited to running multiple programs and windows side-by-side. Although the CG277 is not a 4K monitor, it does accept resolutions of 4096x2160 and 3840x2160 at up to 30 frames/second via the DisplayPort input, automatically downscaling them to its native resolution of 2560x1440, allowing you to edit 4K video.

EIZO ColorEdge CG277 control panel

The monitor controls are all located at the bottom-right corner of the monitor, with an array of 7 buttons for turning on and controlling the monitor's configuration. There are 8 different monitor presets - Custom, Adobe RGB, sRGB, Rec709, EBU, SMPTE-C, DCI, Calibration - plus a range of Color Adjustment modes - Brightness, Gamma, Temperature, Saturation, Hue, Gain, Black Level, Independent 6-Color Control, Reset.

Front of the EIZO ColorEdge CG277

The EIZO ColorEdge CG277 has a matt display, rather than a more distracting glossy display, which makes it much better suited to life as a a photographer's monitor. In a market where glossy displays are very much in the majority, it's nice to see a matt monitor being released. In addition, the HDMI input supports a video signal display rate of 1080/24p, so you more easily edit that particular video mode.

Rear of the EIZO ColorEdge CG277

EIZO ColorEdge CG277 connectivity

EIZO ColorEdge CG277 connectivity

The EIZO ColorEdge CG277 can be connected with 10-bit DisplayPort, HDMI, or DVI-D. There's also a built-in 2 up / 2 down USB hub which allows two computers to be connected at once, although it's USB 2.0 rather than the faster USB 3.0 standard. You can use the CG277 to control two computers with only one keyboard and mouse via the upstream USB ports. All of the ports are located on the rear of the monitor which makes them a little difficult to access.

EIZO ColorEdge CG277 stand

When you turn the CG277 on for the first time, it automatically starts the self-calibration routine, which takes about 40 minutes to complete. The CG277 has a built-in SelfCalibration sensor that is discreetly housed within the bottom bezel, automatically swinging up onto the screen when calibration tis taking place, then disappearing back into the bezel when complete. You can schedule the CG277 to calibrate itself even if it's switched off or not connected to a computer!

EIZO ColorEdge CG277 Self Calibration

EIZO ColorEdge CG277 Self Calibration

EIZO ColorEdge CG277 Self Calibration

EIZO ColorEdge CG277 Self Calibration options

EIZO ColorEdge CG277 Self Calibration scheduling options

We also calibrated the EIZO ColorEdge CG277 with the Datacolor Spyder4 Elite, a mid-range calibration device. The before and after results showed very little difference, which indicates that the self-calibration is very accurate. The Spyder4 Elite results also confirmed that the EIZO ColorEdge CG277 covered 100% of the sRGB colour gamut and 99% of AdobeRGB, making it extremely well suited to life as a photographer's monitor.

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